


Survival of the Fittest

by Hypnobyl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, prehistoric AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 14:17:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11876292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hypnobyl/pseuds/Hypnobyl
Summary: Life has always been difficult for everyone, but Emma’s pretty sure she’s had to deal with more cat dung than most other troglodytes she’s encountered. All in all, she is doing well for herself: She’s surviving, which is more than she can say for certain other people who need rescuing. Swan Queen.





	Survival of the Fittest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Paelmoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paelmoon/gifts).



> Reposted with permission.

The sun rises hot over the plain. There is a crater wherein a lake once resided, but there is little water remaining anywhere in the area. On rare occasions, the sky opens up and showers the desolate land with steaming rain; this hasn’t happened in several rounds of the moon, and Emma doubts that rain will bring relief anytime soon. The rain never comes when the sun is at its hottest, but rather during the times when there is a chill in the air and little need to slake her thirst.

Emma sits in the sparse shade of a dying tree, which does not compare with the cool provided by fresh water, and watches. She’s seen a few predators so far, but none of them have seen her. She has spent too many years tending to her own survival to allow something as simple as a saber tooth take her down. The key to her continued existence is patience. She sits, and she waits. The opportunity to hunt and feed will present itself sooner or later, even if it takes days. Sitting requires very little energy, so she is content to enjoy the shade. Her only worry at the moment is her toddler son whom she has left in their den. He knows better than to wander into danger, but she has already noted a penchant for adventure in him--a dangerous trait given the world in which they live.

He is a strange creature, forever acting counter to her desires. She hangs in the shadows and acts only when there is a benefit to be had. He spends his hours smearing blood and dirt on the walls rather than learning the important skills that will enable him to survive past her death. She has no delusions. She will die sooner or later, and if she does not instill within him some sort of ability to care for himself, he will die shortly thereafter. Despite being her offspring, he has none of her fighting spirit or hunting instinct. As long as she lives, she will care for him; right now, that means she must sit and wait for prey to chase.

The impetus that causes her to move is not a prey animal lowering its guard but rather a human sounding scream. The noise shatters the silence and causes several small birds to flutter out of the branches overhead. Emma drops low to the ground, presses her hands to her ears, and calms the racing of her heart with several deep breaths. Over the course of several years, she has sharpened her reaction time and fought the urge to flee at surprises. This startling event makes her want to sprint back to her den, but she resists. Although Emma cares little for other people, as they tend to cause harm rather than rally support, she doesn’t want the screaming to interrupt her hunt. If she finds nothing, then her child will starve. She darts across the dirt, wilting a bit as the full blast of the sun beats down on her naked shoulders.

She skitters around a boulder and finds the scream’s source. She pauses a moment to take the scene in and determine if interfering is in her best interest. She is powerful and strong, but she knows better than to take on more than she is able. Perhaps in another time she would attempt to prove herself, but the child awaits her return. If she dies, he dies. She ducks against the boulder and looks: There are two women, one on the ground with hand upraised in silent defense and one standing with hand upraised in vicious attack. Emma glances around and finds them otherwise alone. The one on her feet screams with rage and beats at the other, so Emma darts at her and knocks her back. One enemy she can face down. She purposely stands as tall as she can, puffs out her chest, and flexes her muscles. The woman screeches at her and rushes forward, but Emma swings a dirty hand and scratches the woman’s cheek. The woman recoils as blood trickles down her skin. When Emma grunts angrily and swipes again, the woman flees. Emma waits until the woman is out of sight before relaxing her posture from stiff and defensive. With the problem taken care of, Emma turns to examine the woman she’s saved.

The fallen woman has dark brown, straggly hair dangling around her face and a busted lip that trembles as she sucks in breath after breath. Bloody drool dangles from the corner of her mouth until she reaches up, brushes the back of her hand against her lips, and smears the mess across her cheek, which is already stained red by the sun. The hand that lingers near her chin is calloused and curled. The woman is silent, even as Emma knuckles a little closer and reaches out.

Despite the brawl and subsequent bruising, the woman is eerily calm. She watches Emma but doesn’t move. There is a tension in the woman’s body that makes Emma uneasy. She tugs on the woman’s dark hair and hoots questioningly. Regina jerks back, and Emma recognizes herself in the reaction. She knows outcasts when she sees them, but this is the first to rouse her concern. There is usually crying and begging and whining, but this woman is a quieter sort of morose that Emma likes. When she had been cast aside by the others, she too had been stoic in her pain and dismissal.

The brunette staggers up and lifts her nose as she stumbles off. The sun casts a long shadow ahead of her, causing Emma to grunt her displeasure. There are predators in that direction. She could just let this woman wander into death’s jaws and feel no regret. In fact she ought to; saving her means one more helpless mouth to feed. In spite of this, she grabs Regina’s arm and tugs. This one can sit with her in the shade for now.

0-0-0

Regina follows Emma, although she makes sure to trail behind an appropriate distance. She isn’t sure what to make of this blonde newcomer, despite being grateful to a certain extent that the other woman interrupted her beating. Her gut wars with her mind: she ought to leave because she knows nothing about Emma, but she needs Emma because being alone means death. She is not a carcass to be won in a battle for dominance, yet she follows Emma because Emma beat her mother back. She can leave whenever she feels up to the task of surviving alone. Until then, she will use Emma for protection.

When Emma squats in the shade, she reluctantly crouches nearby and drags a finger through the dirt. She is grateful for the slight relief from the sun, but she maintains a state of constant vigilance. Nothing is free, and the price for Emma’s rescue will come due sooner or later. She stares down at the dirt as the pain of the past half an hour begins to fill her. She is tired and sore, but she refuses to let tears trickle down her dirty cheeks. She must not show Emma anything but strength.

Her mother had tried to give her to headman’s son – a thick brute with grabbing sausage fingers, a need for constant domination, and a lack of kindness. Rather than lay back and accept his seed, she had run. All of this had started because of the spark that had leapt into a flame. She squiggles her finger in the dirt in a rough imitation of the fire she had started. Only her mother had seen. Regina had been proud of herself; the heat would keep them warm at night and the pain inflicted would keep predators at bay. Mother, however, had screeched with fright and kicked up enough dirt to douse the flame. In order to wash her hands of her daughter, Mother had dragged her to the headman and left her to her fate.

Thinking she was acting spontaneously, she fled. Mother knew her well, and followed her. The betrayal hurts worse than the bruises; Mother should have let her go but instead tried to kill her. If she cannot trust her own biological family, then there is no way she should trust this stranger. She swallows hard and considers walking away. She is better off dead than waiting for Emma’s distemper to strike. Before she can move, Emma lunges forward. Startled, she watches Emma sprint out of the shade.

Emma is the fastest person she’s ever seen. The blonde moves like a river gushing toward the ocean, her motions fluid. Regina remains in place as Emma tackles a four-legged creature. The beast is topped with pronged antlers, which it thrashes in Emma’s direction. Emma deftly dodges and digs her fingers into the animal’s throat. Emma rips back; the beast shrieks, and blood sprays up from under Emma’s hand. Moving quickly, Emma jerks the animal’s head back and snaps its neck. Regina flinches at the sound of breaking bones.

Cautious but hungry, she abandons the shade in favor of coming closer. The other woman saved her earlier, so perhaps now Regina can beg some food from her. Regina dislikes pleading, but she loathes the painful stabbing of hunger in her belly. Surviving wounded pride is better than slowly wasting away to nothing. She is already lean and doesn’t want to lose more weight. She tuts a few times, getting Emma’s attention. Stretching her fingers toward the dead animal, Regina tilts her head to the side.

Emma holds the carcass close to her chest. She narrows her eyes, tenses her muscles, and angles her body away, guarding her fresh kill from Regina’s gaze. Regina tuts again and then growls. She takes another few steps forward and pounds her chest with a flat palm. Emma bares her teeth and raises a blood-soaked hand.

Regina wishes she had the necessary tools to create fire. She could set the annoying blonde aflame with a pile of sticks and a few rocks. Then there would be no question as to whose meal this dead animal would be. She moves forward again, straining her fingers. Just as Regina’s fingertips graze the animal’s fur, Emma gathers the animal more properly into her arms and sprints away. Without missing a beat, Regina dashes after. Her legs pump, but she is just not as quick as the blonde.

She hasn’t eaten in a day or two now, and she can see the effects of hunger as her steps become heavier and her breath comes in shorter gasps. She chases Emma until the blonde is a distant speck before collapsing to her knees. The sun is no longer burning her shoulders, but she has no energy to care about the coming darkness. As the cool air of night blusters over her, she finally allows a few errant tears to straggle down her face. She shouldn’t have run. She should have conserved her energy until an easier meal appeared.

She curls her hands into the dirt around her and murmurs low in her throat. Too exhausted to move, she closes her eyes and braces herself for death. Her end may not occur immediately, but she will not make it through the night. She has seen firsthand what happens to those who remain on the plain once night falls. As she waits, she tries to sleep, but rest will not come to her. Struggling, she pulls herself onto one side and draws her knees to her chest.

Something grabs her upper arm, and she resigns herself to dying. The something holding her shakes her vigorously until her eyes pop open. She simply wants to die in peace--her despair flees as she finds the blonde staring down at her. For the second time that day, Regina lets Emma tug her in the right direction. This time when she trusts Emma, Regina is less tentative. There will be time for suspicion later, as long as they live through the night.

0-0-0

Emma moves quickly, her heart thudding angrily within her chest. This is a mistake, she thinks. She shouldn’t be bringing this stranger back to her den were her kid is waiting. He manages to get into enough trouble without a possible threat lingering just behind him. She ought to lose the weaker woman in the scant flora if she can, but one glance back assures her that if she did so, the woman would die. Since she rescued Regina not once but twice, she can’t simply let the brunette die. She slams her fists against the ground as she sprints forward and hates the position into which she’s gotten herself. As she passes by the location where she dumped her earlier kill, she takes a moment to beat the corpse a bit more to let out her frustration before throwing the dead animal over her shoulder and continuing forward.

At the sound of a twig snapping nearby, she skids to a halt. The brunette tumbles over behind her, so she flicks her fingers at the other woman in the hopes that Regina will understand that absolute silence is required. Thankfully, either Regina understands or doesn’t feel the need to chatter, grunt, or howl. Emma lifts her face to the wind and inhales slowly. Though her nose is hardly as sophisticated as other animals she’s encountered, she’s trained herself to recognize the odors that usually accompany the bigger and more deadly animals.

After several deep breaths, she relaxes. Whatever is in the vicinity doesn’t have the acrid stench of blood about it. Preferring to be cautious, she sets off much more slowly, taking care that both she and the other woman are nearly noiseless as they move. By the time they reach the small cave that serves as her den, the sun has set beyond the horizon, and the air has chilled considerably. Her stomach clenches unpleasantly at the thought that her kid has been alone through the twilight. He is likely cold and afraid, and he would have no way of knowing she was on her way back to him.

She tosses the dead animal aside and puffs her chest out. Slapping her palms against her chest, she grunts angrily and glares the other woman down. This is her home, and she is going to remain in charge. Regina might be temporarily welcome, but there would be no permanent residency and no power struggle. As Emma bares her teeth, Regina tilts her head down and lowers her body closer to the ground in a sign of submission.

Emma turns and pulls the carcass back onto her shoulders. She hoots a greeting into the cave. Her voice echoes through, and for a moment, there is silence. Emma bites her lower lip as she waits and hopes desperately that he hasn’t gone out looking for her. Thankfully, her worrying is cut short as a return hoot reaches her ears. Emma scampers into the den and peers through the darkness. Her kid barrels into her arms and snuggles against her.

As he hugs her, she runs her fingers over his body to check for signs of damage or pain. Finding him in one piece is the biggest relief of her days. She coos at him until he lets go. When he backs away, he glances over her shoulder and meets Regina’s gaze. Emma gestures to the brunette and chuffs quietly. Understanding that she isn’t a threat, at least directly, Henry pads over and touches her arm. Regina flinches back but relaxes when his fingers are gentle.

Emma ignores them for the moment. She tugs at the creature’s skin and finds the barrier too thick to break with her grip alone. Scrabbling through the dark nooks of their home, she finds a sharp rock and jabs it into the beast’s gut. Hot blood leaks onto her hands as she jerks the tool around. The skin would be good, she determines, because the weather is getting colder, and she has to keep Henry warm. For now, though, she is just concerned with getting as much meat as possible. She jimmies the make-shift blade through the flesh and tosses a piece of ragged flesh into her mouth.

Henry scuttles over and holds his palms out. She continues ripping through pieces of the animal and hands him small bits and pieces as she works. Once he has a handful, he hurries to the wall and squeezes his small fist shut. Blood dribbles around his fingers – catching the liquid with this other hand, he smears the blood along the wall in a crude depiction of the animal from which the blood came.

Emma harvests a bit more and then moves to Regina’s side. She shouldn’t be sharing; she and Henry need the sustenance, and this woman is an outsider. It seems, however, that her bad decision making is going to continue. Regina stares down at the meat, feels her stomach rumble hungrily, and then snatches the prize up with no further hesitation. Once the food has been scarfed, Regina drags her wrist across her lips and lifts a hand.

Emma watches her leave the den with a small sigh. She has done all she can to keep the woman alive, but she isn’t able to stop stupidity. Regina leaving is for the best. Now she and Henry can live in peace once more. She isn’t glad to have another adult around, not at all. Henry is all she needed in the realms of companionship. She turns back to him and huffs at the mess his smearing has created.

He looks pleased, however, so she does nothing more than push his shoulder gently toward the grass patches that serve as their beds. He glares at her, grunts questioningly, but ultimately does as he is told. He curls up, meat still in hand, and prepares to sleep. Emma drags her fingers fondly through his hair and hoots her apology. Night is for sleeping, however, and he is young.

0-0-0

Regina’s heart stutters along as she moves through the darkness. Her fingers scramble along the ground and search for rocks and sticks. She doesn’t dare get too far from the den, but she wants to ingratiate herself with her savior. What she is going to do is risky, she realizes, as this is what brought her mother’s wrath down on her, but she hopes her new, blonde companion will understand and react with pleasure rather than anger.

She finds the supplies she needs and heads back in the direction she thinks is proper. From the corner of her eye, she spots a dark creature following her. Rather than run, she crouches low and covers her head. Were she stronger, she would try and fight; yet, as things stand, she knows any wild animal will kill her in a direct confrontation. As she huddles, she strikes the rocks she collected together and hopes a spark will leap onto the nearest stick. She freezes as something cold presses into the small of her back. A small whimper escapes her mouth, but she clamps her lips shut and resolves to die with dignity.

The cold object disappears and is replaced almost instantly with a warm, slick tongue. It’s tasting her, she thinks. She hopes she tastes vile. The nose nudges her forward; confused, she rolls onto her side and staggers to her feet. The owner of the nose is a hulking creature; she darts back, and the thing follows her. It barks quietly and drops down into what she thinks is a playful posture. She stretches her hand out. The animal lunges forward, scaring her in the process, and pushes the top of its head against her palm.

She pushes on it gently, but instead of it leaving her alone, it takes this as a cue that she’s willing to play. It bounds forward and gets close enough that the moonlight illuminates its features. It’s a canine, she notes, with a lolling tongue and eager eyes. Its paws are bigger than her hands, so she decides to proceed carefully.

She pats its head awkwardly and then walks slowly and purposefully toward the den, hoping it will simply walk away if she ignores it. Contrary to her expectations, it falls into step behind her. When she reenters the small cave, it sits in the entryway and wags its tail. She rolls her eyes and determines it poses no serious threat, at least at the moment.

Dumping her supplies to the ground, she sets about creating a source of heat and light. After several attempts, fire jumps off the clashing rocks and consumes the timber she has collected. As there hasn’t been rain as of late, the wood offers no resistance. Within moments, there is a healthy flame flickering before her – and a snarling Emma approaching. She drops to the ground and whines. The idiot should recognize what a boon she has brought to the cave but sees only something she cannot explain.

Emma swipes her hand at the fire and winces; thankfully she hadn’t touched the body of the flame, Regina thinks derisively. She has seen the ugly results of such an action, and she’s too indebted to Emma to wish ill on the woman. She positions herself between Emma and the fire and grunts. While Emma cradles a hand to her chest, Regina goes to the animal carcass, drags it to the flame, and tries to lift it. After a moment’s struggle, she’s glad to see Emma grabbing the other end. The blonde helps her hold the creature aloft and together they keep it suspended over the flame. She watches the meat darken and, after a time, jerks away. Emma allows this, though the puzzled expression never leaves her face.

Regina waits patiently for the meat to cool, rips a hunk off, and hands it to Emma. The blonde accepts her offering and bites gingerly into it. Soon Emma is gulping down bite after bite, and Regina smirks. Perhaps this life will go better than her previous, she thinks. Emma hoots at her and grabs her arm. Though abrupt panic fills her, she relaxes when Emma shows her the makeshift bedding at the rear of the cave. The child is already asleep, so Regina makes no noises other than a small hoot of thanks as she lies down in the corner and pulls her knees to her chest.

0-0-0

She awakes in the morning to panicked screeching and hollering. Remembering the animal she left behind the night before, she leaps to her feet and runs for the area just aside the cave. There she finds Emma with a fist raised; the animal cowers before the blonde, tail between its legs and ears flat against its skull. Chattering angrily, she places herself between Emma and the animal and shakes her hands at Emma.

Emma saved her before, so she chooses to pay the favor forward and protect this quivering creature who clearly does not want to harm them. She slaps Emma’s chest with her palms, deflecting Emma’s rage onto herself. For a moment, she thinks Emma is going to hit her, but the blonde merely stares at her with hand raised. The hand lowers, and she breathes a sigh of relief. With that danger gone, she turns to the poor animal behind her who still thinks death is imminent.

She stretches her hand out and lets the animal sniff her fingers. It crawls toward her, its belly brushing the ground. Although Emma is making a number of dissatisfied noises, Regina rubs the animal’s ears. It follows her into the cave, all the while casting scared looks over its shoulder. The fire is burnt out, but the meat remains cooked. She offers the beast a bit and tries to decide what to do next. She may have angered her host too much, but she hopes her fire will keep her in Emma’s good graces. The animal may help in the future, anyway, if it knows how to hunt.

0-0-0

Emma glares at her new companions and continuously pulls Henry back to her side. She shouldn’t have trusted the woman. But she did, and now she has not only a careless woman to protect, but a useless ball of fluff that will likely eat more than it helps. She wants to screech her frustration, but she doesn’t want to attract attention. She knows there are tribes nearby and wants nothing to do with more people. The nearest sect of people had tried to take Henry from her years prior, but she had fought hard to chase them away. These days they generally leave her alone, unless there is a reason to come closer.

She grimaces and drags her finger through the dirt. Thanks to the hot that Regina had created the evening before, their meat source is much tastier. It also hasn’t started to smell yet. Henry had been disappointed, if his frown and quiet hoots were anything to go by, but she figures she can get him some other form of color to smear on the walls. She doesn’t approve of the useless practice, but she loves the way it makes him smile.

She hates that she also likes seeing the brunette smile as well. Regina sits and rubs her hands on that filthy beasts back with a sly grin adorning her lips, and Emma trembles with the desire to go over and make Regina her woman. Doing so would be wrong, however, as she would then be adopting the same position that had been the reason she now lives on her own. She had accepted the advances of Henry’s father to a certain extent, but she would not live in his cave and be his woman, which had forced her into fleeing. Now she is in a position to make sure the same does not happen to someone else, and she will not take that away because of a silly urge.

Regina glances at her, and she makes sure to scowl darkly so as not to give Regina the wrong impression. She is indeed still upset, and not even the few thoughts about how attractive the brunette is will change that. She slaps her palms against the ground and decides that today will not be spent loafing around and staring at her new charge. She will go out and find more food because that is productive. She staggers to her feet, causing Henry to scamper closer and grab her arm. Her leaving makes him nervous, but she has too much nervous energy from all that has happened to sit around.

She shakes him loose and points at Regina. The woman is to be protected because Emma has severe doubts that the woman is capable of anything but causing trouble. His brow furrows, so she jabs her finger at Regina again and this time accompanies the gesture with a growl. He flinches away from her. Grabbing his arm, she drags him to Regina’s side; she tries all the while to ignore the flea-infested animal at the brunette’s feet. After sitting him down, she grabs a rock from the ground and shoves it into his hands.

He hoots and drops the rock; when she tries once more to place the object into his hands, he curls his fingers into fists and drums his fists against his chest. As he bares his teeth at her, she decides that either he got the message or he didn’t, and at the very least, he will know to hide in the den if trouble should strike during her absence. She sets a hand atop his head. His hand covers hers for a moment before she sets off.

As she wanders through the trees she wonders how she’s going to get not only herself and Henry but Regina and the animal through the coming cold. Nights are bad enough, but soon the days will be just as bad. Perhaps Regina could make the hot again, she considers; then again, the hot might have been an accident, or only at night. Emma wishes she knew more about Regina--she stops herself and amends: she wishes she knew more about the hot. She scratches dirt off the back of her neck and snorts.

She spots a tree with some sort of berry near the top, up where the sun is roasting down – the berries are likely shriveled and dry, but they will provide some sort of sustenance. She begins climbing the tree, using her fingers and toes to dig into the scraggly bark of the tree. As she nears the top, she pauses, holds her breath, and listens. Her fingers close around the small bundle of berries, but the distant noise sounds again. She has only been gone for a short period of time, but the sound is definitely her kid crying.

Sliding back down the tree with berries in hand, she begins a mad sprint back toward the den. She has to stop making bad decisions, she decides. She will hide Henry when she goes out, and she’ll start moving around so that others who would harm them cannot find them. For now, though, she will be content with simply locating her child and beating anyone who dared touch him to death. She skitters back to the small clearing by her den and finds Regina’s animal sitting in front of the den entrance.

She inches closer and whips around, her eyes scanning the trees for signs of life. In the distance, she can hear the telltale signs of a tribe drawing closer. They make no secret of their movements, which must be nice. Henry sticks his head out of the den, eyes wide and terrified. Grateful that his calls had been to warn her of danger, rather than to exclaim his pain, she skitters into the cave, dragging the animal with her. Once the animal is behind her, she smacks the wall and puffs up, causing the pitiful creature to back farther into the cave. Satisfied that her dominance remains intact, Emma ducks behind a boulder and peeks out to see if the tribe will find their home.

As she waits, she realizes she doesn’t know where Regina has gotten to.

0-0-0

Regina presses herself against the ground as she creeps closer to the source of the noise. She ought to lead them away from Emma and Henry. She recognizes the hoots, grunts, and hollers as her previous tribe, which means they have found her trail and are tracking her down. They hadn’t survived this long by being stupid. She had been promised, and she would be delivered. For a few blissful moments she has allowed herself to dream of freedom, but she realizes now that she would never be free.

They aren’t far. She feels ill at the thought of returning willingly to the very fate she had fought so hard to escape. She imagines that her mother will have a few choice beatings to deliver unto her. She bets the older woman is in the group out hunting for her. There isn’t much foliage around to hide her as she approaches, so she has a rather clear view of the approaching group. Among those out and about is her future husband. His muscles bulge and flex as he scampers along the ground; he leads the way, and there are about a half dozen men and women behind him.

They are armed, a fact which fills her with dread. If their tempers are hot, she could face a bludgeoning. She edges closer and hides behind a withered tree. Its bark is hot, and she bakes in the early afternoon heat. She is thirsty and hungry, and part of her wants to go sprinting back to Emma for protection. She simply cannot do that as she cannot doom either mother or son. Still, she also cannot just give herself up. Perhaps she can lead them on a wild chase, ultimately escaping and all the while drawing their search away from Emma’s den.

She cannot outrun them. She knows that and so doesn’t leave the limited shade provided by tree. She digs her nails into the bark and prepares to wait until they find her. A hand lands on her arm, and she nearly screeches her alarm. She twists and finds Emma staring at her. She tries to jerk away, but Emma’s grip is hard and firm.

She pulls again and hoots quietly. With her free hand, she jabs Emma’s shoulder in an attempt to get Emma to flee. If her tribe finds Emma, then Emma will undoubtedly become the mate of one of the males, and that would leave Henry all alone. Worse yet, that male might kill Henry to make room for his own spawn. Regina doesn’t want that to happen, so she tries once more to shoo Emma away to no avail.

Emma tugs on her; desperate to keep Emma safe, Regina follows, and together they hurry back to the den. Regina plans to turn and run again once they arrive, but Emma refuses to release her. She accepts this and subsequently hates herself for letting Emma keep her hostage like this. She is allowing Emma to cause both their dooms, but she does nothing more than bare her teeth and sulk in the dark corners of the cave. Her attention shifts from her woes as she watches Emma struggle with a large rock.

With a loud grunt, Emma shifts the boulder over the entrance to the den, sealing them in and providing them some semblance of comfort. Regina collapses to the ground; all this time she had thought to sacrifice herself, but Emma could have protected her. A moment after her fall, Emma is beside her. She feels the other woman’s fingers traveling over her body, checking her for injury, no doubt. Emma’s tongue slides against her skin wherever her skin has broken open in a cut, and she coos softly in response. The action is tender, and Regina closes her eyes.

When the examination is complete, she snuggles closer to Emma’s body and decides to trust the blonde more in the future. Emma’s grasp, while still firm, makes her feel safe. She notices a small cut on Emma’s cheek, so she leans up and laps at it until it is as clean as her small wounds. Emma’s fingers comb through her tangled hair. In the dark, dusty air, Regina feels at home.

0-0-0

Regina awakens sometime later, still in Emma’s arms. The magic of their earlier moment has dissipated, leaving Regina wondering once more if her decision had been bad. She brushes her knuckles over Emma’s skin and grimaces. As long as she’s with them, she is putting them in danger. Selfishly, she will not leave. Instead of finding a way out, she moves farther inside.

Henry yawns and sits up. She can barely see him in the dim light, but he scuttles forward and hugs her around the waist. Not far behind him is the wolf, who sits at her feet with its tail kicking up dust. She has never had a family before, but this seems to be as close as she’ll ever get. Her biological mother would probably kill her on sight, but these strangers continue to welcome her into their lives.

She sets a hand on Henry’s hair and rubs. He ducks his head and moves past her to find Emma. She reaches out toward the wolf and then tentatively sets her hand atop the wolf’s head. She will call this wolf Red, she decides, for the red tint to the wolf’s fur. Red rubs against her before heading for the mouth of the cave. Regina follows and watches while Emma waits by the boulder in complete silence.

Regina listens carefully, but she can’t hear her tribe. There is no noise, so Emma wrenches the boulder away from the entrance. The sun is lowering against the horizon, but Henry prances out to enjoy the last bit of his day. Regina joins Emma just outside; the blonde grabs her waist gently, and she leans against the other woman. Red sits beside them, while Henry rolls about in the dirt. They can make this work, Regina thinks. Her presence isn’t a death sentence, not if they’re careful.

0-0-0

Emma examines the tracks with a keen eye and years of experience. The prints are deep, which means that the walker was heavy or large, and they’re fresh, which means that the walker had been nearby just hours prior. She likes neither fact; both lead her to the conclusion that she and her family are not safe. She frowns as she realizes that there is no longer a question in her mind: her new dark-haired companion indeed counts as family.

She had hoped that the search would be called off once they couldn’t find Regina after a few sweeps. That they’re still searching makes her worry because their home is safe, for the most part, but it’s not invisible. If they discover the den, then she and her family will be trapped inside. She doesn’t want that to happen. Either the search ends, or she leaves.

On one of her hunts for food, she had found a rocky outcropping that would function as a suitable den for a short period of time. However, due to the wasteland around, she would have to wander farther for food, and she would be away from her family longer, increasing the risk. They won’t stay there permanently, she determines – just long enough for her to scout out another location.

With this in mind, she lopes back toward the den. She’ll gather Regina, Henry, and even the wolf, and they’ll set off at once. With so many hands, they’ll be able to carry most of the meat from her last kill, as there isn’t much left. They’d be stupid to leave it though. She skids to a halt as she spots the two louts slamming their fists into the ground.

Regina stares defiantly at them, and even when they turn their rage on her, she makes no sound and does little to defend herself. Emma takes a moment to identify the risks; Henry is nowhere to be found, so she assumes he’s hiding in the cave like he’s been taught. The wolf is missing, too, but she has no guesses as to its whereabouts. The two men seem to be the only ones who’ve found them. She makes eye contact with Regina before barreling forward, pausing just once to snag a rock from the dirt.

She’s quiet enough that the first one doesn’t hear her coming. She slams the rock down on his head; a gash erupts underneath, and he howls his pain and rage, alerting the one currently beating Regina that there’s a problem. With his injury, he’s not going to be much of a threat. In her experience, a head wound like that is likely to cause a lack of control, and her assumption proves true as he struggles to stay upright, even as blood leaks soggily into his eyes.

The other man is hulking in size, and his hands are stained dark with old blood. The scars across his chest suggest either an accomplished hunter or practice with combat. She has a few of those, but his look fresher. She isn’t sure she can take him down, but the choice to flee becomes unavailable as he screams and runs at her. Choosing now to fight instead of die at his hands, she dodges left and tries to hit him with the rock as he passes.

He’s quicker than she is prepared for, and he whips around in an instant. Before she can get away again, his hands loop around her throat. She drops the rock, grabs his wrists, and digs her fingernails into his skin. She kicks at him as he lifts her off the ground, but nothing she does has any effect. That he can kill so easily frustrates her, as that means he was beating Regina as a form of torture, and if she loses this fight, Regina is doomed to more pain.

Her vision begins to gray. She focuses all her energy on sucking air into her lungs. She fights harder to loosen his grip and closes her eyes. Her heart is thudding too hard. She gasps, and her hands drop away from his arms. Moments later, he squalls and releases her. She hits the ground and paws at her throat. Her vision returns, and she scrambles around. The man is desperately trying to paw Red off his arm. Her hand scrabbles around until she finds the rock once more. With him distracted, she likes her chances more.

Wheezing and aching, she hits his head with the rock with the remaining strength in her body. He topples down, baring his throat to the wolf; Red takes the opportunity provided and rips into his jugular. The other lug tries to stagger away, so Emma stumbles after him. She’s lighter and more nimble and so catches up to him quickly. He can’t be allowed to leave, as he’ll bring back help. She could barely handle two of them, and she has no interest in more. She tackles him to the ground and begins thrashing him as best she can. Eventually, Red trots over and finishes the job for her.

Emma rolls onto her back and stares up at the sky. Breathing hurts. She amends quickly: Everything hurts. She blinks, and when her eyes are open once more, the sky is being blocked by Regina’s concerned expression. She rasps out a hoot and winces. She touches her neck and wants to holler, but thankfully, nothing comes out. Breathing is all she can do for now, so she does little else.

She allows herself a few minutes on the ground; Regina licks at her wounds while she gathers her energy. She wishes she had more time, but if their home has been found once, that means they need to leave sooner than anticipated. With Regina’s help, she gets to her feet. Red gets a brief head rub before she sets off slowly to find Henry. Regina helps her gather what little food can be salvaged, and, when Emma can finally breathe again, they all set off together in the direction of the setting sun.

0-0-0

They reach the new cave just as the sun begins to set. After a long day of walking, Henry accepts his meager dinner without a peep, eats silently, and then wanders deep into the cave to find somewhere to sleep. Alone with Emma, Regina considers the events of her day.

Her body feels beaten, but she knows she got off fairly easily. If Emma hadn’t returned at that exact moment, she would have suffered much worse. The bruises ringing Emma’s neck are a reminder of the torture she had been spared. The two men had found her as she waited for Emma, and she hadn’t run because she knew they could easily catch her. Even if they couldn’t, she wasn’t going to let them see her fear. If she was going to die, then she was going to maintain her dignity.

She watches Emma move stiffly around their new home and feels a number of emotions welling in her. She’s happy that Emma saved her, sad that Emma got hurt, and confused by Emma’s current distance. Others would have claimed her by now, as a prize for the damage done to them in the process of saving her, but Emma hasn’t shown an interest. Stranger than Emma’s disinterest is that she actually wants Emma to do so.

She lies down to sleep but remains awake. Emma is a few feet away, leaning against the cave wall with her eyes open and her fists clenched against her thigh. Regina scoots closer and is pleased when Emma doesn’t move away. This may be due to the injuries, but Regina doesn’t care about that. She coos softly to get Emma’s attention and then licks at Emma’s hand.

Emma gazes down at her, but she can’t read the blonde’s expression. She wonders if Emma doesn’t want her at all, but then there’s no explanation for why Emma faced death to protect her. People don’t just act out of kindness, not to the extent of enduring bodily harm.

She hoots and moves slowly into the space just in front of Emma’s feet, inverting her position so that instead of facing Emma, she’s eyeing the opposite wall. She eases down on her stomach and then lifts her hips. Bracing herself with her knees and elbows, she waits for Emma’s reaction. An interested partner would take her invitation.

Moments pass in silence, and Regina is about to give up when she hears the scuffling noises of Emma moving. After a few seconds, Emma’s hand comes to rest on the small of her back, and Emma’s pelvis nests against her ass. They fit together well, Regina notes, but something isn’t quite right. She of course understands that Emma lacks the proper appendage to truly make this work, but she hadn’t considered it in her surge of desire.

Emma draws back, apparently coming to the same conclusion she’s just reached. She grunts her disappointment but subsequently moans as something slides inside her. Twisting around, she makes eye contact with Emma, who’s cleverly figured out that her fingers will fit. Emma makes no sound but lifts her eyebrows; in response to the unasked question, Regina pushes her hips back, driving Emma’s fingers deeper.

She digs her nails into the hard floor, unable to deal with the different sensations seeping through her veins. Something warm and slimy is trailing down her inner thighs, and her blood feels as though it’s buzzing under her skin. She’s seen copulation before, but she’s never seen the women react as though there’s fire in their bellies. Several barely human noises work themselves free from her throat, and she lets her forehead rest against the ground.

Emma’s other hand grabs her hip with power she didn’t know Emma still retained. She appreciates the firm grip and wonders just how strong Emma truly is. Her body clenches around Emma’s fingers, and her legs stiffen. She mewls as she tugs free from Emma and curls up on the ground. Emma tries to grunt, but the sound is strained.

She grunts back, trying to imbue the quiet noise with appreciation. Emma lies beside her, so she rolls over and licks at Emma’s cheeks. Emma’s hand drags along her cheek just before Emma yawns and closes her eyes. Agreeing with the sentiment, Regina stretches out and falls asleep.

0-0-0

Come morning, Emma is once again mobile. Regina is glad to see Emma moving around without limping and wincing intermittently, but she’s not sure Emma’s up for another journey; Emma, however, is intent on herding her, Henry, and Red out into the sun for another march. She will follow wherever Emma leads, she determines, and so she keeps pace with the blonde, ever alert to provide support should Emma stumble.

She catches Emma’s elbow after several hours of walking, and Emma tries to make some sort of noise in response, but all that comes out is a hollow whistle. Henry, who is several yards ahead with Red and still moving, stops and turns to stare. Regina chitters at him, hoping he won’t get too far away before Emma is ready to move again.

He sits in the dust to wait, allowing her to turn her attention to Emma. Emma’s tongue darts out to wet her lips, but no moisture clings to Emma’s mouth afterward. They need water, Regina determines, but they’re in a wasteland with no end in sight. There’s little shade, no drinkable liquid, and no prey animals. Emma clings to her, and she feels for the first time the responsibility that comes with being part of a family. She allows Emma to lean against her as they begin to walk again, although her mind is far from their current location.

If Emma isn’t in a position to lead them, she supposes she’ll have to. They can’t go back the way they came for fear of her old tribe, so heading on into the unknown is the only option. She just hopes that there will be a reprieve sooner rather than later, as she isn’t sure Emma can wait.

0-0-0

There is a period of time where Emma remembers very little. She knows she’s moving, and she knows someone is touching her, but the details are hazy. She’s not even sure she’s not dreaming. The only fact that assures her that she’s awake is the constant aching pain.

She decides that in the future, she’ll be less eager to tangle with two men double her size. Her throat struggles as she tries to swallow, but her mouth is dry. There isn’t enough saliva to do much of anything. Next time, she’ll be more careful, and she knows that there will be a next time as long as Henry and Regina are with her and danger threatens.

Thirst and pain slow her pace considerably, but there’s always a set of hands latched somewhere on her body that drag her forward. She tries to complain, but every noise feels like a sharp rock slicing through the skin of her neck. Finally, her agony abates, although she’s not sure if this is because she’s stopped moving or because her wounds are healing.

Time passes. How much, however, she has no concept. When she next opens her eyes and sees clearly, the moon is hanging low in the sky. She blinks and licks at her lips, which have cracked open. Moments after she wakes, Regina is by her side, pushing something hard against her mouth.

She fights for a few seconds before she understands that Regina is trying to help her. Eager for whatever Regina provides, Emma parts her lips; something cold, sticky, and soothing seeps into her mouth. She swallows eagerly until there’s nothing left to suck down. The relief is immediate, and she lets out a quiet gasp as her body acclimates to having moisture once again.

She sleeps.

When she awakens again, she looks for Henry as soon as she sits up. He’s nearby, and she relaxes upon spotting him. Once certain that he’s okay, she examines their surroundings. She had lost track of herself in a desert, yet now they’re in some sort of jungle. Large, vibrant leaves loom overhead, sheltering them from the worst of the midday sun. Strange cries fill her ears, and the scent of the hot floods her nostrils.

Regina huddles near a small flame with a piece of meat dangling from her fingers. On noticing Emma, she scampers over and puts the food into Emma’s mouth. Emma sputters as the overly hot food singes her tongue and palette but forces the meal down her throat. Too long without sustenance has taught her body to take in and hold down anything, and a little burn won’t stop her from eating her fill.

Regina hoots at her. Rather than audibly respond, Emma grabs Regina’s hand and licks the knuckles. This satisfies the brunette as to Emma’s well being, so Emma lumbers slowly to Henry’s side. After picking him over for both wounds and insects, she settles back on her heels. He’s not hurt, and neither is Regina, so she must have done something right in that fight.

She fought well, and Regina has led them to relative safety. Emma can’t detect any dangerous creatures lingering too close, but she never feels completely at ease out in the open. Exerting herself so much is taking its toll, however, and she lurches back toward the ground. Her eyes close, and she rests again.

Regina’s grunts wake her up again. She groans low in her throat, the first real noise she’s been able to produce since the battle. The fire is gone, as is the surrounding foliage. Regina gives her more food; this time whatever’s between her teeth is cold and tough. Her jaw aches by the time she swallows, but she accepts a second strip. With food in her belly, she feels much better than before. She no longer feels a moment away from collapsing once more.

She moves more quickly, and her body reacts like it’s supposed to. The dirt on the floor is cool, as is the air. The main source of light comes from a dozen yards to her left, so she lopes over. She sticks her head out and determines that their new hide-away is in the ground, deep beneath the giant roots of the largest tree she’s ever seen. This tree, in contrast with the long-dead brush of their previous home, is alive and covered in moss. Emma sets her hand on the trunk, eyes wide.

Henry hollers as he barrels into her, the wolf directly behind him. The force of the two moving bodies knocks her down, but she doesn’t bother scolding them. She lets them lap at her for a moment before pushing them off and getting back up. Henry clings to her side as she surveys the land before her.

Regina touches her elbow and jerks her head in one direction. She follows the brunette through the rich brush until they reach a trickling stream. Regina bends low and slurps up the liquid and then looks pointedly at Emma. Emma mimics the action and drinks deeply so that her stomach feels heavy.

Once her thirst has been slaked, she straightens. Not being at all dehydrated is an unusual feeling. She feels awake and in control. She turns to Regina and dips her head down, showing Regina the back of her neck. Without her assistance, Regina has managed to keep them all safe and get them to a secure location. Emma wishes she could show the brunette her gratitude but settles on showing her respect. With her neck bared in this fashion, Regina could kill her. This is as vulnerable as she’s ever been.

Regina’s tongue is hot against her skin. A lick rather than a bite is a reward for her own hard work. She lifts her head slowly and meets Regina’s gaze. Regina lowers her head in the same fashion, and Emma responds in kind. With that settled, they travel back to their tree to watch Henry play among the bushes with Red.

0-0-0

As Henry romps in the brush, Regina leans against a tree nearby and keeps a careful eye. Things have been quiet for several transitions from sun to moon and back again, but she doesn’t dare let her guard down. Part of her wishes to believe that they’ve found a truly safe location, but the other part of her is sure that her old tribe will catch up once more. She nibbles on her lower lip and listens to the birds calling to one another in the trees.

Emma lopes over, a fresh kill thrown over one shoulder. The carcass is tossed aside in favor of licking her cheek, but Emma doesn’t leave the beast for long. After greeting Regina, she hunkers down with a sharp rock and sets about prepping strips of meat for their next fire. Regina wrinkles her nose, hating the smell of fresh blood. She steps away from Emma’s dirty work but continues to watch Emma’s lithe, skilled movements.

Emma is completely at ease in their new location. Regina wishes that she too could feel so comfortable so quickly. No matter how much time passes while they’re there without problem, a heavy feeling will remain in her stomach as long as her mother and that tribe lives on. Emma and Red killed two men, and her tribe will want justice. There is a chance they will continue hunting her down until she and her fellows are dead.

Her thoughts are interrupted only by a tiny cry. When she notices that Henry had stumbled and scraped his knee, she is at his side in a heartbeat. She licks the blood away and chitters at him. He hoots back and pushes her shoulder gently. She understands that he doesn’t want her help, but she knows he needs someone to watch out for him. Emma seems to be a hands-off parent, and for good reason, Regina determines. Living alone with a child means there’s nobody to both watch the child and go hunting, and Emma chose repeatedly to feed her family and rely on Henry’s ability to follow orders.

Considering both people are still alive, Regina has to admit this worked for a number of years. Now, she is around and able to provide care while Emma is busy. The transition isn’t easy, and he chafes under her control. Yet he doesn’t complain about her affection and care when he’s hungry or tired. She brushes her knuckles across his cheek and gives him a small push to let him know he can play once more.

Emma points at the pile of dry branches in the pit that serves as the sole location of their fire. With the beast sliced to pieces, she is now responsible for cooking. While she sets about that task, Emma begins roughhousing with Henry. The sounds of their tumbling about makes listening for potential enemies difficult, but she can’t bring herself to stop their fun.

She’ll just have to wait and see, she decides. As there has been no danger yet, she might be overreacting. Keeping watch is the one thing she can do, as she doesn’t feel capable of keeping anyone from harm. Perhaps this place is truly safe, and her worries are for naught. Despite this cautious optimism, she can’t stop listening for danger.

0-0-0

Regina wakes to the sound of other people. Given that Henry is sleeping by her feet and Emma cannot make noise, she deduces that those who woke her are strangers. She pulls her feet out from under Henry’s body and creeps to the front of their den. Though the world is dark around her, she squints and spots another person. The person turns slowly and spots her as well.

Not daring to wake or endanger either Emma or Henry, Regina steps out of their hiding place and draws her lips back in a snarl. Moonlight glints off her teeth, and she growls as menacingly as she can. The figure watches her carefully but doesn’t move forward. She growls a bit louder.

The clearing in front of her home brightens, and she realizes that the figure before her is her mother, who looks exactly the same as the day she was rescued by Emma. Her mother stares blankly as she cringes back. Although the confrontation happened too long ago for her to measure, she recalls each blow with perfect clarity. She trembles and considers crying out for Emma.

She won’t let Emma get reinjured on her behalf. That thought fills her with enough courage to stand straight. Meeting her mother’s cold eyes, she strides forward and curls her fingers so that her nails are directed at her mother. Her mother doesn’t move, so she flings herself forward and begins to beat her mother much the same way her mother once beat her. Even as she slashes at her mother’s skin and blood flies out of her mother in streams, the other woman doesn’t make a noise.

She, on the other hand, sobs as she attacks the woman she once thought of as her protector and caretaker. Her movements are sluggish and clumsy, and she feels useless as her arms don’t behave the way she wants them to. One last blow, however, causes her mother’s body to go limp and topple to the ground.

A hand lands on her shoulder and shakes; she rouses from her dream with a small peep of confusion. Emma cocks her head and whistles, the only noise she can make so far. She blinks and slowly comes to terms with the fact that her mother had been nowhere near her home. She snuggles against Emma and closes her eyes once more.

She doesn’t care much for dreams, but she thinks this particular one is meaningful. She may feel impotent, but she can still do what needs to be done. And if she cannot, the woman holding her close can. She lets sleep overtake her once more, comforted by the knowledge that this is her home, and nothing will take that from her.


End file.
